Michael Schumacher treated in secrecy in Paris hospital: report

PARIS – Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has been admitted to a Paris hospital to be treated Tuesday with cutting-edge stem-cell therapy, according to a French newspaper.

The Paris hospitals authority, citing France’s strict medical privacy rules, said it could not comment on the report in Le Parisien that Schumacher was admitted under tight guard Monday to the Georges-Pompidou hospital for transfusions of inflammation-reducing stem cells.

The newspaper said the 50-year-old German, who suffered a near-fatal brain injury in a 2013 skiing accident in the French Alps, was expected to be discharged on Wednesday.

His long-time manager, Sabine Kehm, had no comment.

Following the accident, Schumacher’s condition stabilized after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he later emerged. Since September 2014, he has been cared for at home on the shores of Lake Geneva.

Le Parisien, citing sources it did not name, said Schumacher has been treated at least twice previously at the Georges-Pompidou hospital, admitted each time under a false name and treated by a small medical team.

Le Parisien published a photo of a yellow and blue ambulance with Geneva plates that it said drove Schumacher to the hospital on Monday afternoon. Inside, he was taken to a first-floor cardiovascular unit on a gurney with a dark-blue covering that hid his face and body.

The paper said about 10 security agents, some equipped with earphones, watched over the patient.

Schumacher’s family fiercely protects his privacy. Thick forest around his castle-like home and high surrounding walls provide sanctuary from fan and media intrusion.

Schumacher won a record 91 Formula One races before retiring in 2012. He was skiing with his son Mick — who now races in F2 — when he fell on Dec. 29, 2013.

He hit the right side of his head on a rock, splitting open his helmet. Doctors worked frantically to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded.